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In only a couple weeks, the teen figured me out quicker than most highly trained adult Hunters did in years. Her intuition and cleverness went beyond my expectations, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the kin of Rose. The woman knew I was trouble when she first met me, and she hadn’t been wrong.
Still, I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t eager to make a different impression with V. I wanted to let my guard down and show sides I’d kept locked away for almost two centuries. I wanted V to see the real me, not the fabricated persona I lived so long that it became who I was.
Just like I had withher.
Giselle.
She got out of the car and motioned for me to do the same. “Come on, you jerk. Let’s get this over with.”
10
Heartbreak Partners
PHILLIP HAD BEEN WEIRDever since the night we spent together. I couldn’t figure out what had changed about the Austrian, only that it happened quickly.
He seemed less arrogant, maybe a bit more open to playful banter—and not the kind where I was inclined to slap him. He’d shed his outer persona for a night and let me see a youthful side of the Hunter. A softer, less world-weary side that made my stomach fuzzy and warm.
Can you sound any more like a lovestruck teenager, V?
But our evening together was one of the better nights I’d spent with someone in a long time. You know, when I wasn’t on the hunt for renegade villains bent on drinking blood from innocent, unsuspecting victims.
Nigel and I shared a few nights where I toed the line of fun and innocent, before duty called and I couldn’t let loose anymore.
But it was different with the older Hunter.
Maybe because he didn’t treat me like some precious jewel in a treasure box I was able to clap back and feel less like I was walking on eggshells. Less like I should filter out my personality to not unintentionally burden the other person.
Not that Nigel ever meant to, but he always made it clear there was a line drawn between us for some reason or another. He was extra aware of that line when it came to Grams. He didn’t want to pressure me into anything, and I appreciated that about him until he up and left and decided everything on his own without bothering to talk to me.
To be fair, I’d gone and done the same.
But with Phillip that night, I forgot about my heartbreak and responsibilities for a bit and just gave myself over to the moment. I lived like a teenager whose only responsibility was to enjoy an interesting chat and stay up late watching corny love dramas.
Phillip surprised me again when he offered to negotiate Nigel’s place beside me so I could stay friends with him. The happiness was instantaneous, and I didn’t know what I was doing, not even when my arms were already around the flummoxed Austrian.
Nothing made sense.
